The Gift of Christmas
by jrchandlerfan1
Summary: When Danny can't afford to buy the gift that Scout really wants this year, he tries to find a way to make it the best Christmas for her. Drew and Sam try to make a special Christmas for their children and also try to find time for each other. A/R Christmas one-shot.


Hello everyone, so this is dedicated to FoxyLeo28. I've really enjoyed our conversations the last couple months and really appreciate all the awesome feedback on Priorities. I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!

So, this is alternate reality. Julexis are married, though there are only mentions of them. Drew is still Drew and Jason is Jason (and he won't be in this), but Sam chose Drew and he never left/died. They are still married and moved out of the penthouse sometime after Jason's return. I'm sure Danny has a relationship with Jason, but I'm not exploring that as this is a Dream one-shot. Danny is close to Drew and both kids live with Dream, that's all we need to know for this. And I'm doing multiple points of view to make things easier. Danny is 12 and Scout is 3 ½ which is how I think they look on the show now. Enjoy!

**The Gift of Christmas**

Danny shifted his feet and fidgeted with his pencil. The clock on the wall said 2:59. Come on… change… change… The bell finally rang, and the clock flashed 3:00. He darted from his desk, pushing through his classmates and darted to his hook in the hallway. Finally, Christmas break. He quickly pulled on his boots and coat and grabbed his backpack, hanging it from one shoulder, before heading out into the snow.

"Yo, Danny!" his buddy Ethan called out to him waving. "We're gonna have a snowball fight. Come join us!"

"Not today," Danny responded. "I have some shopping to do!"

Danny always walked with his head held high on his trek home. Mom finally agreed that this was the year he could walk home alone. Their house was only a couple blocks away and he was twelve years old, he wasn't a little kid anymore. His family would be meeting him at the shopping centre on the corner so he and Scout could pick out some Christmas gifts and she could meet Santa Claus. He was way too old for that now, but he wanted to make Christmas extra special for Scout.

He walked up to Port Chuck's Toy Chest and pressed his nose against the window. There they were: the Elsa and Anna barbie dolls that Scout wanted so badly sitting on the display shelf. He opened the door and a little bell announced his entrance. He passed through the busy shoppers and lifted the box containing both the queen and princess of Arendelle. He only knew so much of Frozen because Scout always talked about it… He turned the box over and gasped when he saw the price: $43.42. He turned out his pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill from shoveling snow for Grandma and Grandpa last weekend. Twenty-three dollars short. He groaned.

GHGHGH

Scout clutched tightly to Sam's hands and swung their arms back and forth as they walked through the parking lot. Sam had been looking forward to Christmas this year. Scout was finally starting to grasp the holiday and had a preschooler's knowledge of Santa Claus. Plus, she and Drew were taking the entire two weeks off so they could spend it together as a family. It would definitely be a good Christmas this year.

"Will Santa be happy to see me?" Scout asked.

"Of course, he will, you've been a very good girl this year."

Scout gave a cheeky grin.

When they walked inside the little mall, Danny was waiting on the bench, his backpack sitting at his feet.

"Danny! Danny!" Scout let go of Sam's hand and ran over to him "Mommy said Santa will be happy to see me because I was a good girl!" She turned to Sam. "Was Danny good too?"

Sam smiled. "Yes, he's been very good too."

"Mom?" Danny asked. "Can I go shovel Grandma and Grandpa's driveway tomorrow?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Well, we haven't had any more snow since last weekend…"

He folded his hands in front of him. "Please… or maybe they need their cable fixed again."

"Are you sure you want to work over Christmas break?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, I'm sure they can find a job for you to do," Sam said.

Danny balled his hand up and swung it in front of him. "Yes!"

"Daddy!" Scout squealed.

Sam whipped her head round as Scout scurried past her and into Drew's arms. He scooped her up and kissed her cheek. "Hi there, Princess. Are you being good for your mom?"

She nodded slowly. "Uh huh. Mommy said I was very good this year and Santa is happy."

"You have one sharp mommy." He carried her over and kissed Sam.

"Eeeew!" Danny said covering his eyes.

Drew and Sam laughed.

"Mommy and Danny love each other," Scout said.

"Are you ready to meet Santa?" Drew asked.

"Yes!" Scout said.

GHGHGH

When Scout heard that Danny was going to their grandparents' house, she jumped up and down and said she wanted to go too. After dropping them off, Drew thought he'd surprise Sam by taking her out on a holiday date. Alexis said she and Julian would drop the kids off around dinner time.

He turned right at the next streetlight and Sam turned to him. "Uh, isn't home the opposite way?"

Drew nodded and grinned. "It is, but we're not going home just yet."

Sam smiled. "Spontaneity, I like the sound of that."

He pulled into the park next to the skating rink and pulled over.

"Uhhh…" Sam's mouth was slightly open. "Are we going for a walk?"

"Nope." Drew slipped off his seat belt. "We're going skating."

"Skating?" She laughed. "But I can't skate."

"I know, I'm going to teach you."

"We don't even have ice skates."

"I rented them."

They retrieved the skates from the trunk and headed over to the rink. Parents were teaching young children to skate and teenaged couples held hands as they skated along. Drew and Sam sat on a bench, and Drew pulled his black skates on quickly, but Sam was having trouble tying them.

Drew raised an eyebrow. "You weren't joking when you said you can't skate… you've never been, have you?"

"Nope, never! I spent my childhood in the water."

He knelt in front of her and lifted her foot onto his thigh and began to tie it for her. Then her other. He reached for her hand and helped her to her feet. She stumbled a little into his arms and they both giggled.

They wobbled their way over and stepped onto the rink. "Here, take my hands," he said.

He skated backwards and pulled her along. Her body went stiff.

"There's nothing to it," he said.

"I don't know abou—" She stumbled over pulled him down with her. She chuckled and climbed on top of him. "I've been a naughty girl this year."

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?"

"I was fibbing… I do know how to skate." She gave him a quick peck on the lips, then pushed herself up, spinning around backwards.

Drew's mouth went slightly agape, then he rose and skated over to her. "You are naughty indeed. Santa will not be impressed."

"Oh yeah? What's he gonna do about?"

She zoomed down the rink and he chased after her. He caught up to her and wrapped her arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. "He'll have to keep a close eye on you," he said.

GHGHGH

Something jabbed into Sam's gut. "Ooow…" She opened her eyes to Scout on top of her.

"_It's Christmas morning_! _It's Christmas morning_! _Santa came_! _Santa came_!" She squealed and began jumping on the bed.

"You heard the little princess," Drew said. "It's Christmas morning! Time to get up, Mommy." Then he leaned forward and whispered to her, "And this is before we've put sugar into her…"

Sam groaned and looked at her phone. 5:00am. She slowly rolled out of bed and followed them into the hallway. Danny was leaning against his doorway.

"Merry Christmas, Danny!" Drew ruffled his hair.

Danny smiled. "Merry Christmas!"

Sam hugged him. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart."

They followed Scout as she hopped down the stairs like a bunny rabbit and she plopped herself down next to a blue mountain bike and a pink tricycle.

"Which one is mine?" Scout asked.

Sam ran her fingers through Scout's golden locks. "The pink one, silly."

"Ooooh!" She jumped up and sat on the tricycle.

Danny climbed onto his bike and began turning the gear shifts, but then he stopped. "Can I give Scout her present?"

"Of course, bud." Drew sat on the couch and Sam nestled up beside him.

Danny crawled beside the tree and pulled out a gift box covered in wrapping paper with puppies in Santa hats on it. "Scout, this is for you."

Scout tried to climb off her tricycle and fell flat on the floor.

"Are you okay there, Princess?" Drew asked.

She pushed herself up. "Yeah!" She took the gift from Danny and on the floor with her legs crossed. She ripped the wrapping paper off and squealed. "Anna and Elsa!"

Sam smiled. "Is that why you wanted to do work for Grandma and Grandpa?"

Danny nodded. "I didn't have enough money. We stopped at the toy store on the way home and Grandpa distracted Scout while Grandma helped me shop."

Scout got up and hugged her brother. "I love you, Danny."

Sam placed a hand over her heart.

"Okay, Daddy's turn next," Drew sat up. "Danny, can you hand me the small gift sitting on the branches?"

"Sure." Danny lifted a white parcel and handed it to Drew.

Drew handed it to Sam. "For the prettiest lady on earth…" he turned to Scout. "Well, one of the two prettiest on earth."

Scout blushed.

Sam slowly ripped the paper off revealing a small velvet box. She opened it and smiled. It was a heart-shaped locket.

"Open it," Drew said.

She opened it and on one side was a picture of Danny and Scout together and on the other side was Drew and Sam on their wedding day. Her eyes welled with tears and she kissed Drew. "I never thought I could ever be this blessed. I have the best family ever."


End file.
